Shell s Colorado Oil Shale Freeze Wall Test 31 st Oil Shale Symposium Golden, Colorado October 17-21, 2011 Wolfgang Deeg, Sepehr Arbabi, Larry Crump, Erik Hansen, Ming Lin Shell International Exploration & Production Inc.
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The Target In-situ conversion of kerogen in oil shale to producible hydrocarbons Requires Means to contain product to maximize recovery Means to protect and exclude ground water 3
Containment Systems Natural Process volume surrounded by impermeable formation excluding water and containing conversion products to maximize recovery Gas storage cavern (leached salt dome) Shell s East RDD Project Combination: Natural and Modified Subsurface Roof and floor rely on natural seals Around periphery permeability sealed by Subsurface or formation grouting Ground freezing if porosity is water filled 4
Freeze Wall Test Location FWT 5
Freeze Wall Test Project Demonstrate that a freeze wall is a robust containment system for commercial oil shale development Evaluate and Test Two containment methods Freeze Wall Grout Wall Dual containment system consisting of external and internal freeze walls separated by a fluid filled compartment Techniques for freeze monitoring freeze wall formation, detecting breaching, and locating breaches B A C 6
The Freeze Wall Test Site 2 3 1 Facility to assess viability of a freeze wall for ICP subsurface containment. Comprises: 1. Control room, process and data acquisition buildings, offices, and warehouse 2. Three refrigeration units and associated circulation systems (pumps and piping) 3. The freeze ring where the testing was conducted as well as surrounding monitoring wells 4. Additional monitoring and injection wells on remote pads (not shown) 7
Freeze Wall Formation Tank Refrigeration Units Pumps Formed by circulating chilled aqua ammonia through 136 dedicated freeze holes Total cooled subsurface length: 212,800 feet (40 miles) Facilities included: Three refrigeration units Three circulation pumps Freeze Holes 8
Freeze Wall Closure 640 635 630 Pressure Observed in the Lower L4 in 5647-MZP Freeze wall closed across entire commercial interval in Oct. 09 Closure confirmed in Dec. 09 and Jan. 10 by: Pressure (psi) 625 620 615 610 605 600 9/1 9/8 9/15 9/22 9/29 10/6 10/13 10/20 10/27 11/3 Continued water level rise inside freeze wall following wall closure. Lack of pressure communication across freeze wall in response to active pumping inside and outside the freeze wall Absence of temperature spikes in Dec. 09 freeze hole temperature build-up Temperature spikes are caused by warmer water flowing through a location where the freeze wall has not yet fully formed. 1,454 ft Empire State Building Uinta A-Gr B-Gr L-5 L-4-U L-4-L L-3 Surface 1,100 ft 1,500 ft 1,700 ft Schematic of Freeze Wall Test interval Closed around periphery across entire commercial interval 9
Freeze Wall Pressure Test: Low Internal Pressure Reduce pressure in each zone tested to 100 psi Saw no pressure response in test interval outside freeze wall for each zone tested Confirmed wall closure and integrity in that zone Achieved following inside to outside pressure d(water Level) (ft) 100 0-100 -200-300 -400-500 -600 Test Cell C Dewatering 03 - Water Level Changes Noted in MZP Hole 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000 Time from start (min) Uinta B-Groove L-5 Upper L-4 Lower L-4 Stop Pump differentials: A-Groove: 227 psi B-Groove: 263 psi L-5: 259 psi L-3: 430 psi 10
Pressure Test of Freeze Wall: High Internal Pressure Raised pressure inside cell B until wall breached. Test involved an intentional breach A Division wall between cells B and C breached somewhere above 550 Breaching confirmed by pressure response in cell C Surface pressure when wall breached: ~150 psi Breach healed as soon as pumping into cell B was halted Minimal flow through breach No breach associated temperature change noted in cell B division wall freeze holes Flow period too short to determine exact breach location. B C Division wall breached above 550. 11
Evaluation of Containment Systems Freeze wall optimum Impermeable once formed Cell A 1,700 deep freeze holes 1,500 deep freeze holes 1,500 deep FC holes Grout wall leaked At least one natural fracture not sealed by grout Dual freeze wall test Successfully breached wall twice. Both times wall rehealed almost instantaneously Breach induced likely not natural fracture Cell B Cell C Well 5506 Temperature Logs 400 500 Induced fracture width too small when pressure 600 A-Groove reduced to sustain flow Depth (ft) 700 Result: Closure and rapid re-freezing of fracture 800 900 B-Groove L5 1,000 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Temperature (deg F) 12
North Wall Breach: Will Wall Unzip? Wall breached Aug. 31, 2010 using dedicated breaching well located in center of freeze wall 25 tall breach located in the test interval Breaching pressure: 2.95 psi/ft Breach kept open for 75+ days without growing Produced 2 gpm water from test cell at 410 to 475 foot outside to inside head difference Flow through breach remained constant Verified unzipping of wall in test interval unlikely in fractured formation due to highly localized flow channels Breach repaired via pressure equalization across freeze wall 13
FWT Site: Current Status 1,700 deep freeze holes 1,500 deep freeze holes 1,500 deep FC holes Cell A Legend: Cell B Subsurface frozen Cell C 14
Freeze Wall Test Completed Objective: Demonstrate freeze wall is robust oil shale subsurface ICP containment system Can we form freeze wall on commercial acreage? Is freeze wall robust? How strong is the freeze wall? Can we detect and locate failures? 1,454 ft Uinta Surface Schematic of Freeze Wall Freeze Wall Test Accomplishments: 1. Confirmed freeze wall forms across entire commercial interval A-Gr Closed 2. Demonstrated freeze wall withstands expected B-Gr around commercial inside to outside pressure differential. L-5 L-4-U L-4-L 1,100 ft periphery across entire commercial 3. Tested Freeze wall to over 150 psi above full hydrostatic head. 4. Demonstrated ability to monitor freeze wall L-3 1,500 ft interval formation and to detect and locate breaches in Empire State Building 1,700 ft the freeze wall. 15
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